Crowding Blamed In Prison Crime Wave

Inmates Forced Out For Space

NORFOLK — New inmates in the Norfolk City Jail have been beaten, gang-raped and slashed with homemade knives by a gang of young drug dealers known as the Tennis Shoe Mob, some prisoners say.

Floyd Rainey and other prisoners who have witnessed attacks by the jailed dealers over the past four months say gang members believe they will make more room for themselves in the crowded cells if they force others out through beatings and intimidation.

"They're just like wild dogs," said Rainey, 42, who has been in custody since early March on burglary, forgery and embezzlement charges. "Most of the time, they single out the weakest ones. They think: `There'll be more room for us if we run his ... out of here."'

Jail officials refused to comment on the gang's activities. Police were not aware of the group, since jail incidents are not investigated unless there is a homicide or a request is made by the sheriff's department.

But in four separate interviews with The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star since February, former and current inmates described a threat that has mushroomed as increasing numbers of drug dealers are arrested and thrown into the already crowded jail. Two former inmates came to the newspaper office and two inmates called a reporter from the jail.

All four had been jailed previously and knew that jail was a violent place, they said. But they said the violence was worse than usual at the Norfolk City Jail, and they said the Tennis Shoe Mob was behind much of the trouble.

In addition to Rainey, the inmates interviewed were: Robert Dean Beveridge, a member of the "Deathstalkers" gang who was sentenced to 26 years for robbery and is awaiting trial for murder; Larry Baker, who served time for cocaine possession; and Edwin E. Connolly, who served time for assaulting a police officer.

"They got into this mob thing to boost each other up," Rainey said. "But they found that if they beat new people and sent them to the medical section or other cells, they'd have more room for themselves."

Helen Eigenberg, assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University, said the formation of prison gangs is not new. It is a new twist, however, for drug dealers to band together to control the limited space.

"What you're talking about is informal social control," Eigenberg said. "Inmates banded together for years to avoid the pains of imprisonment, for protection and to control limited resources like contraband."

The Tennis Shoe Mob may have formed more quickly than usual, she said, "since they knew each other from the outside."

The Norfolk City Jail is rated to hold 417 inmates, 347 in the main jail and 70 in a recently completed addition. Records indicate that on May 28, there were 1,007 inmates.

The inmate population climbed from about 800 in January 1989 to more than 1,000 currently, jail records show. Jail officials said Friday that about 700 of the inmates are serving time for drug-related offenses.

The Tennis Shoe Mob is composed of crack dealers in their late teens and early 20s who knew each other on the street, inmates said.

Inmates estimate there are 20 to 30 gang members in the jail at any time.

The most recent Mob beating occurred at 2:30 a.m. on May 24, Rainey said. "They ran five guys out that night," he said.

Connolly and Baker said one method of intimidation by Mob members is to make it impossible for new prisoners to sleep. Newcomers are afraid to doze off because Mob members like to light matches between their toes.

Mob members are more dangerous because of makeshift weapons they carry.